Jean-Barthélemot Sorbier, count, (; 1762–1827), was a French general of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

.Fierro; Palluel-Guillard; Tulard, p. 1102.

Revolutionary Wars

An aristocrat of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, Sorbier joined the Royal Artillery Corps in 1782 and was a part of the La Fère regiment, where he met

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. A captain in 1792, Sorbier is involved in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, taking part to the fighting in Northern France and on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. From September 1793 to April 1795, he was suspended, due to his aristocratic ascendancy. However, once he was reintegrated in the army, he was at once promoted to the rank of ''chef de brigade'' (

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

) and again was a part of the French Army of the Rhine, playing a remarkable part in the

battle of Neuwied The Battle of Neuwied (18 April 1797) saw Lazare Hoche lead part of the French Army of Sambre-et-Meuse against Franz von Werneck's Austrian army. The French attack surprised their enemies and broke through their lines. Aside from 1,000 men kill ...

, on April 18, 1797. As a result, the commander-in-chief, general

Lazare Hoche Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...

immediately promoted him to brigadier general on the field of battle. Three years later, in 1800, he became a

general of division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

and general inspector of artillery.

Napoleonic Wars

In 1805, he was a part of the first

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

and was present at the

battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...

, before taking the command of the artillery of the French 'Army of Italy'. In 1808, Napoleon I created Sorbier a count of the

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

. In 1809, he played an active role in the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in Central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Emp ...

, replacing general

Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière, also Count de Lariboisière, was a general of artillery of the First French Empire. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and died of fatigue at Königsberg in East Prussia on 21 ...

as commander of the Imperial Guard Artillery, then, in 1812, was a part of the second Grande Armée during the

Russian campaign The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

, keeping his command of the Guard artillery. In 1813, Sorbier was named commander of the artillery of the Grande Armée, a command which he would retain during the 1814 campaign in France. During the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

, he joined Napoleon and after the downfall of the Emperor, Sorbier was exiled and then placed on the retirement list by King

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

Recognition

The name SORBIER is

inscribed An inscribed triangle of a circle In geometry, an inscribed planar shape or solid is one that is enclosed by and "fits snugly" inside another geometric shape or solid. To say that "figure F is inscribed in figure G" means precisely the same th ...

under the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

, Eastern Pillar, 15th Column.

References

Sources

*Fierro, Alfredo; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean - ''"Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire”'', Éditions Robert Laffont, {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorbier, Jean-Barthelemot French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Commanders in the French Imperial Guard 1762 births 1827 deaths Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe